Instead, he argues that schools should combine consequences for bullies with mediation, counseling or a learning experience.

School shootings and violence have prompted schools to take an even more punitive stance against student misbehavior, experts I talked to said.

the higher a school’s climate rating — that is, the more that students, parents and teachers think their school is a safe place where people are respected — the lower the bullying rates. Similarly, the higher the social-emotional skills, such as the ability to wait and not react impulsively, the lower the bullying rates. But what hasn’t been clearly proven is that improvements in school climate or social-emotional skills will necessarily lead to a reduction in bullying.